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The Columbus school district wants to continue giving special access to its top-rated schools to
children who are considered gifted, have good grades or have been taking private art lessons.

The Columbus Board of Education voted last week to ask the state to OK its selective-admissions
process for five schools. That means some of the district’s top-performing schools will reserve
spots for students based on merit rather than giving all students an equal shot at getting in.

Columbus Alternative High School and Eastmoor Academy have set aside seats in each freshman
class since 2008 for kids who meet minimum academic requirements. Then-Superintendent Gene Harris
pushed for the program to reward bright, talented students. Harris expanded the selective process
to a handful of the district’s arts schools starting this year; they admit students based on
artistic talent.

Ohio public schools that want to restrict admission on the basis of academic or other skill
requirements need a waiver from the State Board of Education, which the district does not have.
Instead, its selective-admissions process has been labeled as a pilot program for five school
years.

But the new administration moved last week to seek the waiver and make the selective-admissions
process official. If approved, students who meet the minimum academic or talent requirements could
begin applying in January.

Some school board members said they knew little about the district’s selective-admissions plans
and questioned whether they are fair when administrators presented the plan to them at a meeting
last week.

Board member Hanifah Kambon opposed the proposal, saying it could block students without the
acumen to navigate the application process. Member Mike Wiles opposed it for similar reasons.
Kambon and Wiles were voted off the school board in November. Their terms end next month.

Last school year, about 25 percent of students who applied to a school through a lottery were
accepted. But for those who sought selective admission at CAHS or Eastmoor, nearly 60 percent were
admitted.

District spokesman Jeff Warner said officials have no data to show how well the
selective-admissions plan has worked. That’s something several board members have now
requested.

Warner said the plan responds to parents of motivated students. The district believes that the
plan is fair because it’s so limited — the district has 114 schools total — that it won’t restrict
opportunities for others. Other large Ohio school districts also use selective admissions at some
schools.

At CAHS and Eastmoor, selective admission sets aside 100 out of about 575 total spots each year
for incoming freshmen who have at least a 3.0 grade-point average, are designated as gifted or have
high standardized test scores. Last school year, 92 students were admitted through the selective
process, or about 16 percent of their combined freshman classes.

This school year, a second program began at Fort Hayes Arts & Academic High School, Arts
Impact Middle School and Duxberry Park Elementary. In those schools, seats are set aside for
students who are gifted in the arts, audition and demonstrate talent through private lessons. This
year, 114 students were admitted to those schools using the talent-based requirements.

The school board’s 4-2 vote didn’t approve those specific requirements, only the application for
a state waiver, board President Carol Perkins said.

“I have no problems with the process,” Perkins said. “I believe it gives more students the
opportunity to participate in the arts if they have a specific ability or skill.”

Asked whether the policy unfairly excludes some students, she said, “I think that there’s a
possibility for that; but again, if a student is really interested and really focused, they try,
try, try again until they are successful.”

The schools that use selective admissions are among the district’s alternative schools, which
accept students through a lottery system. The selective-admissions plan met some resistance in 2008
from parents who said it shut out some average students who wanted to attend one of Columbus’ best
high schools.